Moroccan batbout with beef

Batbout with beef and paprika filling is a Moroccan pan bread. You make the dough from a combination of flour and semolina that you bake in a skillet.

Ingredients you will need

Flour - bread flour contains more gluten, giving you a softer dough.

Adding a little semolina to the flour gives the dough a slightly crispier structure during baking. You can also replace this with flour.

Yeast - I always use instant yeast in my recipes unless otherwise specified. You don't need to activate this in milk or water before kneading.

Milk - milk adds flavor and makes the dough softer. Feel free to replace this with plant-based or lactose-free milk.

How to make batbout

The dough

In a mixing bowl, quickly mix the ingredients for the dough and turn the bowl onto a work surface. Knead for 10 minutes until you have a soft and supple dough, and let it rise under a damp tea towel for about an hour.

Once the dough has doubled in volume, take it out of the bowl and knead it a little more. Divide the dough into 12 sticks and roll out small balls. Let the dough balls rise for about 15 minutes under a damp tea towel.

The meat filling

Finely chop the onion and garlic, clean the peppers, and cut them into small cubes.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the bell peppers and fry for a few minutes until softened.

Add the spices to the pan and fry for about a minute. Put in the minced meat and fry until nicely browned. Let the minced meat filling cool completely before filling the buns.

Assembling the batbout

Press each ball slightly flat and put 1.5 tablespoons of filling into it. Fold the dough around the filling and flatten the balls until they are about 2 cm thick.

Heat a frying pan and fry the onion on both sides until it is golden brown. Putting oil in the pan is usually unnecessary, but keep an eye on this.

To ensure that the buns are completely cooked on the inside, it is important that you don't turn up the heat too high during baking, or the outside will already be browned while the inside is still sticky.

You can also bake the buns in the oven after filling them. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, then bake the batbouts for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

Equipment

• A mixing bowl or food processor with a dough hook to mix the dough in.
• Kitchen scale and measuring cups to weigh out the ingredients.
• Having a tea towel ready is also helpful for covering the dough.
• A sharp knife and cutting board to clean and cut the vegetables into small pieces.
• You will need a bowl and a skillet to make the filling.
• A skillet to cook the batbouts.

Storage

Batbout is great for making in advance. You can make the mince filling 1-2 days in advance, but the fried buns will also keep for 2-3 days.

If you want to keep them longer, it is better to freeze them. Then put the fried buns in a freezer bag.

In the freezer, they will keep for about three months.

Before serving them, let the batbouts thaw slowly and, if necessary, warm them in a skillet, oven, or microwave.

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